Despite some late afternoon thunderstorms, showtime saw a perfect Saratoga Springs summer night as country star Brad Paisley looked up and said "The Weather Channel has smiled upon us."

The West Virginia native started out — as many do — singing in church. Moving to Nashville, he got his first job as a songwriter before becoming an artist who has now won Grammys as well as the prestigious CMA Entertainer of the Year Award.

At SPAC, sporting his trademark Telecaster guitar, a buff Paisley in a black T-shirt, black jeans and white hat worked a short catwalk when he wasn't playing off his band.

From the fun "Comfort Zone," the two-step heaven of "Mud On The Tires" (featuring one of many wicked guitar solos) to the hard-hitting "American Saturday Night," Paisley quickly hit his stride.

An early highlight came with the poignant "This Is Country Music" and, later, the moving "I Thought I Loved You Then."

And he entertained. He constantly roamed the aisles. At one point, he played an acoustic set on a stage set up between the seats and the lawn.

Paisley was in fine voice, and better guitar. He quoted Van Halen ("Hot For Teacher") and Charlie Daniels ("The Devil Went Down to Georgia"); there was a video duet with Carrie Underwood ("Remind Me"); he played slide with a beer bottle ("Alcohol"); and there was lots of fiddle and steel — and not a drop of rain.

With his epic songs and wide stance, Chris Young was the Bruce Springsteen of the bill, especially with the easy gait of "Voices," dreamy "You," uplifting "Tomorrow" and powerful "The Man I Want To Be." Then he blew things up by covering ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man."

Bearded, ball-capped Lee Brice came out blazing with "Parking Lot Party," which hit a home run with crowd members who were doing just that moments before.

How do you follow that? He took a can of beer, put it up next to his microphone, popped the top and played — you guessed it — "Beer." The pop-leaning "Hard To Love" was a highlight, as was the sentimental "I Drive Your Truck."

One of the best parts of the night was late-addition the Henningsens, who actually went on 10 minutes before showtime. Fronted by the stunning, huge voice of Clara Henningsen, the family band rocked country style as Clara just soared.